GENMTD-L Archives

From: Leslie Ward <>
Subject: Re: Cheeks/Matthews
Date: Sun, 04 Apr 1999 10:25:42 -0700

Look at www.nara.gov to see if there is a NARA branch near you. If not,
look in the phone book for a Latter Day Saints church and call them and
ask them to point you in a good direction for beginning your family
history research. Mention that you are interested in the closest Family
History Center. Go to the FHC and ask for help.

Once you've found out the best way to obtain census info in your area,
look for the following:

1880 Census for North Carolina listing Jerry and Kate Matthews. Look
for variations such as Gerald, Katherine, Catherine, etc. They will
only be indexed if they had a child 10 years or younger in the
household. If Lindo had a sib 4 years older you're in luck. If you
don't find them in the index, don't immediately throw in the towel.

1900 for same, with a child of *about* 16-18 years old named Lindo
Pernell or some reasonable variation of that. Don't get too concerned
about exact spellings or ages. It's possible Lindo could have already
moved out, so make note of any Jerry/Kate Matthews.

Spend some time looking at the 1880 and 1900 census. Go to 1910 as
well. You'll learn a lot about this family, such as what state everyone
was born in, approximate year of birth, total number of children born to
Jerry and Kate, where Jerry and Kates parents were born. Make copies.
Copy several pages of census records before and after the Jerry/Kate
entries. These neighbors used to stick together, move together, and
marry one another. Pay special attention to Matthews/Cheeks entries.
Again, don't worry about spelling variations.

Supposing you learn that Kate was born about 1858 in North Carolina. Go
to the 1860 NC census index and look for Cheek/Cheeks families with a
daughter Kate/Cathy/Katherine etc. about 1-3 years old. These are
possible parents. Follow these families through the censuses. Copy
extra pages. Make note of siblings. Consider that neighbors again
might be inlaws.

Do the same for Jerry's birth/parents.

At the LDS FHC you can ask how to look for marriage records of Kate and
Jerry. You should know enough now to know which Kate and Jerry are
"yours."

The LDS FHC can also point you to death indexes, cemetery listings,
etc. But first go through the censuses. You'll glean enough info there
to help you determine if the other records are "your" Kate and Jerry.

Be prepared for obsession, now that you've started!!!

Leslie

"Celeste A. Bethell" wrote:
>
> I am looking for information on Kate Cheeks mother of my g-grandfather. He
> was born in 11/1/1883 somewhere in NC. His name was Lindo Pernell Matthews.
> Kate Cheeks was married to Jerry Matthews. I have talked to my grandmother
> and her sister but they do not remember where there parents died. How do I
> find information on when and where they died, census information, etc.
>
> Please give me some clues on how to find some information about this line in
> my family.
>
> "Celeste A. Bethell" <>

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• Re: Cheeks/Matthews by Leslie Ward <>